Brace for vehicle-tops.



J. TEPPERT.

BRAGB FOR VEHICLE TOPS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1911.

1,059,504. Patent d Apr. 22, 1913.

fiimsseJ I hereinafter JOSEPH TEPPERER; OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,1J osnrrr Tnrrnn'r,a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Buffalo, in the countyof Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Braces for gveliicle ljops and the Like, of whichithefollowing 1s a specification.

My invention relates to braces for vehicle.

tops and the like and more particularly to the joints thereof,and it has for 1t s ob ect the provision of :a simple, inexpensive, and

durable joint in whicha concealed stop is provided and allabrupt external projecting portions usually found. on joints of ;this

character are dispensed Iwith, so that the possibility of pinching;the fingers between the abutting parts serving as stops is entirely avoided.

In braces for vehicle tops it is generally the practice topaint or enamel the same,

and another ob ect of 1 my invention is to provide a brace inwvhichysuificient clearance is provided to prevent marring or otherwise injuring the paint or enamel so that the material from which the brace is constructedis always properly protected against the elements of the weather. a

A still further obj ect ofmy inventionis the. provision of a joint for braces and the like in which the. friction is reduced owing to one part of theconcealedstop being free to rotate, thus guarding; against wear of the parts and assuring the vtwo parts of abrace beingheld in proper alinement when in unfolded or opened position.

With these and other objectsin view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of :parts to be described 1 and: particularly pointed out inthe subj oined claims.

In the drawings,.-Figure lisa side elevation of a vehicle. brace equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2:is a :top or edge view of the same. Fig. 31is a side elevationwith one of the caps removed. Fig.4 :is a longitudinal section takemon: line 4-4=,.Fig.v 2. Fig. 5 is a transverse section takenuoniline 55,Fig. 1. p

In the drawings in which like numerals of reference refer to likepartsin the several views, the numerals 6 and? designate the two arms of a brace, suchas. usedon a vehicle, top pivotally connected by means of my improved joint18.k One arm. of said brace is reducedlinthickness and has a single Specification of ;I.etters Patent. n nlcatil a ea May;5, 1911.. Serial 11031625320.

BBAGE anon vnnrcnn-rorsh circular joint-member 90ifset thereon and 1 the other arm is bifurcated and has a pair of circular joint-members l0 off-set thereon and adapted to receive between them: the

Patented Apr. 22,:19 13J single joint-member of the first-mentioned arm. The said circular oint-members have their peripheral edges extending 1 slightly above the upper or outer edge of the brace, as at 11, and the joint-member or members of each arm curve gradually into the upper 1 edges of their respective arms so as to prov10 e an upper or outer smooth surface for:

the brace. without projecting parts. A

pivot-pin112having a large head or cap=13 integral therewith is passed through the joint-members and projects from one side of the brace, andto the projecting end of said pivot-pin a cap 14 1s secured by upsetting the pivot-pin within a counter-bored portion provided in said cap; The single j ointmember: 9. hasa segmental openingnld through which is rotatablypassed a stoppm 16 havlng its endsalso rotatable in opem ings 17 in the pair of joint-members 10,

which latter straddle said single joint-meme her. by Said pin withflthe ends of said segr mental opening acts as a stop to limit the movement of the arms 6 and 7 relative :to each other. Said segmental openingis of sufficient length to permit: one of the arms tomove through an arc of 180 degrees, or i from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to that shown in the dotted lines desig-fl i the stop-pin being rotatable, the ends of the 1 segmental opening, which are rounded, as well asthe pin itself are almost entirely nated 118 in said figure, and by reason of relieved of pounding when the pin rolls into contact with the ends of said segmental opening', thus preventing wear at the ends of said opening, whereby assurance is had i that the brace arms will be retained in per-v feet alinement when unfolded. Moreover,

by making; the pin rotatable and rounding:

the ends of the segmental opening the de- 1 vice is rendered almost noiseless, and the pin which is of hardened metal will not wear: as readily as would be the case if the pin were held against rotation.

Upon opening or closing the brace, the stop pin;16 is free to rotate withinthe openings 17 of the pair of circular j oint-members 10 and is also free to move in rolling contact with the curved inner wall of the segmental openings 15, thus providing a. free acting:

joint whereinfriction is reduced to the minimum and wherein the-stop part is protected from the elements of the weather so that the co-acting faces thereof will not become rusted and cause the joint to work hard.

. juring or scraping the coating fromthe other during the act of the opening or closing the brace.

It will be observed that the upper edge of the brace while it has a swelling at the joint by reason of the joint-members extending slightly above the upper or outer edges of thearms 6 and 7 is nevertheless perfectly smooth and during the act of openingthe brace to stretch the cover of-the vehicle top over the seat, the fingers can be placed in direct contact with the joint Without pos- ,sibility of their becoming pinched, as all lproj'ecti'ng and abutting parts are dispensed with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is,

1. A brace 01- the like comprising two arms, one of which has a flat circular jointmember off-set thereon and provided with a segmental opening and the other having a "Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

pair of fiat circular joint-members spaced apart and straddling the first mentioned joint-member and also provided witha pair of alined openings, a pivot pin arranged axiallyin said joint-members, and a stop-pin passed through said segmental opening andhavingits' ends rotatable within said alined openings and adapted to roll into contact with the ends of said segmental opening;

2. A brace or the-like comprising 1 two arms, one of which has a flat circular joint member provided with an axial opening and i a segmental opening having said axial opening as its center and the. other arm havinga pair 'ofspaced flat circular joint-members; straddling the first-mentioned joint-member, and-having an axial opening and a pair of openings alined withsaid segmental opening, a pivot pin fitting into said axial open-.

ings and havinga large head at oneend serving as .a cap, a securing' cap fittingonto the other end ,of said pivot pin, and a stop pin passing through said segmental opening and loosely fitting the openings alinedwithl said segmental opening.

In testimony whereoffl Ihave aflixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing 60 witnesses.

I Jos PH TEPPERT. I Witnesses EMIL NEUHART, I ELLA C. PLUEOKHAI-IN. 1

Washington, I). G. 

